Franchise-Record Nineteen Strikeouts and Two Homers Seal Somerset's Win Over Hartford
EL Somerset Patriots

Franchise-Record Nineteen Strikeouts and Two Homers Seal Somerset's Win Over Hartford

Published on July 1, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Somerset Patriots News Release


Somerset Patriots pitcher Hayden Merda
Somerset Patriots pitcher Hayden Merda
(Somerset Patriots)

The Somerset Patriots won their second straight game against the Hartford Yard Goats 5-3 at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ on Wednesday evening. Across the first two games of the series against Hartford, Somerset is outscoring the Yard Goats 10-5.

With the win, Somerset advanced to 23-12 at home. The Patriots' 11-game over .500 mark at home this season ranks second in the Eastern League.

Following Jace Avina's two-run homer in the first inning, Somerset's 60 first inning runs lead the Eastern League and rank second in Double-A at the time of the game's conclusion.

Somerset's offense belted two home runs, marking the second consecutive game the Patriots have mashed multiple homers. It's the first time the Patriots have hit two-plus homers in consecutive games since June 7 at Harrisburg and June 9 vs. Binghamton. The Patriots have now hit multiple homers in 34 of 77 (44.2%) games this season after recording multiple homers in 35 of 138 games (25.4%) in 2025.

The Patriots have hit homers in 11 of their last 14 games, 20 of their last 24 games, 36 of their last 43 games and 60 of 77 games this season. Their 118 home runs this season lead Double-A. Somerset's 211 HR pace through 77 games is on track to beat the Double-A Research Tool Era record set by the Patriots in 2022 with 205 home runs.

Somerset pitchers Xavier Rivas (4 K), Michael Arias (4 K), Trent Sellers (4 K), Hayden Merda (2 K), Chris Kean (2 K) and Tony Rossi (3 K) combined for 19 strikeouts. The 19 strikeouts marked a franchise-record for a nine-inning game and fell one-shy of Somerset's franchise-record 20 strikeouts on August 25, 2022 vs. NH (10 innings). Somerset's pitching staff became the fastest unit in Double-A to 800 strikeouts this season. Its 808 punchouts lead Double-A and rank sixth in MiLB at the time of the game's conclusion. Somerset's pitching staff allowed two or fewer earned runs for the fifth time in the last seven games. In that span, the Patriots have struck out 73 batters while allowing just 22 walks.

LHP Xavier Rivas (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) tossed his fifth consecutive outing surrendering two or fewer runs. Rivas punched out four total batters recording two strikeouts with his splitter and one each with his fastball and slider. Across his last five outings, Rivas has tallied a 1.31 ERA, 2-0 record, 0.87 WHIP and .127 BAA with 30 K to 9 BB in 20.2 IP across four outings.

CF Trent Grisham (1-for-3, 2B, BB, R) made his Somerset debut on MLB rehab, pounding a one-out double in the fourth inning. Grisham joined Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon as the fourth Yankee to rehab with Somerset this season. Grisham is the 47th different Yankee to rehab with the Patriots in Somerset's Yankees affiliation.

DH Jace Avina (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB) pummeled his 16th homer of the season in the first inning, surpassing his previous career-high of 15 home runs in 2022 as a member of the Brewers organization. Avina's 16 HR lead all active Patriots and are tied for third in the Yankees organization. Since coming off the IL on June 17, Avina is 14-for-45 (.311) with 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 XBH and 5 BB. Avina reached base safely for the 39th time in his last 42 games. In that span, he's slashing .331/.411/.639 in that span, raising his season-long OPS from .629 to .930.

RF Jackson Castillo (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, R) registered his second consecutive multi-hit game to extend his hit streak to four games and on-base streak to nine games. During Castillo's on-base streak, he's batting .394/.447/.667 with two HR, seven RBI and five XBH. Across his last 20 games dating back to the beginning of last homestand on June 9 vs. Binghamton, Castillo is batting .304 with six HR, 19 RBI and 10 XBH in that span. Castillo's 19 RBI in that span lead the Eastern League, while his six HR are tied for fourth.

LF-CF DJ Gladney (2-for-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI) smacked a two-run go-ahead homer in the seventh inning for his 14th long ball of the season. Gladney's home run marked his eighth go-ahead homer to lead all active Patriots. Gladney's multi-hit game was his first since June 20 at Portland and 16th overall this season. Gladney's 14 homers since May 2 rank second in the Eastern League and fourth in Double-A at the time of the game's conclusion.

3B Coby Morales (1-for-4, 3B) smashed his first career Double-A triple to lead off the third inning. It marked Morales' first triple since June 4, 2025 at Aberdeen. Morales has notched an extra base hit in six of his last seven games. He's rocked eight XBH in that span, including five in his last three games. Across his last seven games, he's raised his season-long OPS from .834 to .880. With 75 hits this season, Morales has the third-most hits among Patriots all-time through Somerset's first 77 games to start a season. Across his last 18 games, Morales has slashed .353/.405/.647 with four HR, 13 RBI and 11 XBH alongside seven multi-hit games.

Check out the Somerset Patriots Statistics

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Somerset Patriots pitcher Hayden Merda
Somerset Patriots pitcher Hayden Merda
   



Eastern League Stories from July 1, 2026


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